The battle situation was constantly changing. With Manison all-out attack and the strong foundation he had built up over many years of investment, he quickly gained an absolute advantage and suppressed Black Star across the board.
This scene was also witnessed by the followers of the Mechanic Faith watching the battle from the surface of Cloud Magnet Planet.
"Am I dreaming? To actually witness two Mechanical Deity Descent in my lifetime?"
"Record it quickly! The last time the Mechanic Emperor went all out was many years ago. This is invaluable firsthand footage!"
Why did those two start fighting?
"It looks like a challenge; Black Star's situation doesn't seem too good."
"The Mechanic Emperor is, after all, the Mechanic Emperor. They've held the position of supreme god for hundreds or even thousands of years. Black Star is still too young. His future is uncertain. How could he possibly be a match for the Mechanic Emperor now?"
"Black Star achieved historic results a while ago, and I thought he was on the same level as the Mechanic Emperor. But now it seems he still lacks experience."
The onlookers, followers of the Mechanic Faith, were incredibly excited. As fervent fans of top-tier mechanics, they knew the experiences of various Peak Beyond Grade A mechanics like the back of their hand. Although they didn't know the reason for the two's battle, it didn't stop them from discussing it with great interest.
The settlement was threatened by the aftermath of the divine war, yet few believers were willing to leave.
In their view, what did it matter if they took some risks to their lives, as long as they could witness the divine battle of the Mechanical Deity with their own eyes... If the ground weren't too high, they would have liked to get even closer.
On the top floor of the temple of the Mechanic Faith, numerous priests gazed at the remote detection screen before them, which displayed images of Han Xiao and Manison in outer space.
"The two gods have moved the battlefield away, but the settlement is still in danger. High Priests, shouldn't we organize the evacuation of our followers?" a priest asked in a low voice.
The High Priests, his eyes glued to the screen, completely absorbed in the scene, didn't even turn around when he heard the words: "Wait, let me watch a little longer."
A person nearby muttered to himself, "Although I don't understand why they're fighting, the outcome should be a foregone conclusion. Both sides have clones present, so it's just a contest of mechanical abilities. Black Star is far inferior to the Mechanic Emperor."
"That's how it looks."
The priests nodded in agreement; after observing the battle for a while, most of them shared the same thought.
No one will be disappointed by this, because in the eyes of the Mechanic Faith, this is the normal situation, and this is the outcome that should have been achieved.
However, at that moment, the battle situation suddenly changed, and the energy reading at the edge of the screen suddenly spiked.
The High Priests was taken aback.
"Black Star's energy fluctuations... have suddenly become stronger?!"
At the same time, the leaders of the Three Universal Civilizations were also watching the live broadcast of the two's battle. The constantly flashing light on the screen illuminated the faces of the three of them with iridescent colors.
"Your Excellency, Black Star's situation doesn't seem too good." The leader of the Arcane Sect turned and glanced at Urranrell.
"As expected." Urranrell said calmly. "We've always wanted Black Star to avoid conflict with the Mechanic Emperor. He possesses astonishing potential and needs more time to mature. Even though his growth has repeatedly exceeded expectations, it's still too early for him to Head-On Engagement with the Mechanic Emperor."
"However, it was the Imperial Fleet that first shut down the spacetime stabilization anchor array. It seems you actually want them to fight a full-scale battle." The leader of the Arcane Sect said with a playful tone.
"You misunderstand. Now that the virus has been resolved, the blockade should naturally be lifted. We can't keep these mechanics' clones around forever. We lifted the blockade hoping that the Mechanic Emperor would know to leave, but it seems they'd rather show off their power in front of us," Urranrell said in a deep voice.
And-book-She ordered the closure of the space blockade not to incite trouble. Urranrell did know that Black Star could ignore the space blockade and teleport away, but in her opinion, Black Star had not done anything wrong. Destroying the virus core was an act that was beneficial to the peace of the universe. Why should our imperial ally run away? If anyone should leave, it should be the Mechanic Emperor that slunk away.
"Understandable. After demonstrating that stance and being outmaneuvered by Black Star, the Mechanic Emperor had to make some kind of response." The leader of the Arcane Cult glanced at Bader.
Bader stared intently at the screen, indicating that they should just talk and he should be relegated to the background.
Seeing this, the leader of the Arcane Cult knew that Bader was not in the mood to discuss the Mechanic Emperor for the time being, so he withdrew his gaze and continued, "Black Star is no match for the Mechanic Emperor; he will most likely lose."
"We don't want Black Star to clash with the Mechanic Emperor right now, but since we've come to blows, the Empire will naturally support Black Star to the end. There's no need to back down," Urranrell said decisively.
In terms of stance, the leaders of the Three Universal Civilizations are all on Han Xiao's side at this moment, but they do not deny the objective fact that the Mechanic Emperor is still more powerful.
Moreover, that was just a clone of Black Star. Losing to the Mechanic Emperor wasn't unacceptable, considering Black Star's age was only a fraction of that of the Mechanic Emperor and the Tu Shu Nation, and his future potential was promising.
Just as the three were thinking this, a sudden change occurred in the scene.
Han Xiao's energy reading suddenly surged, climbing to an astonishing level.
The three of them were all taken aback.
"Black Star switched modes? He's unleashing his potential again?!" Bader exclaimed in shock.
The leader of the Arcane Sect was speechless.
"That was too impulsive. Was it really necessary to push yourself so hard..."
It's no secret that Black Star has two forms. In its normal mode, it can't defeat the Mechanic Emperor, which is an objective fact in the minds of the three. However, all three know that Black Star's burst mode is its peak combat power.
Black Star unleashed a god-like performance in his burst mode, shocking the Galaxy. Whether Black Star in this form could rival the Mechanic Emperor was something none of the three could determine.
Urranrell's expression was not good; Black Star's actions had once again surprised her.
She couldn't understand why they insisted on unleashing their full potential and growing steadily, even though they could have developed normally.
Besides, didn't you already have a bad run once before? Why are you having another one? How much potential do you have to waste?
Black Star was, after all, an Imperial ally on whom she had placed high hopes, and the stance she had demonstrated aligned with the needs of cosmic peace. In her view, the loss of Black Star's potential was also a loss for the Empire.
In her rational judgment, this move was undoubtedly a huge loss, but emotionally, she somewhat admired Black Star's indomitable spirit.
Han Xiao's Choice did not betray her trust, and now she finds Han Xiao pleasing to the eye no matter what.
Clang!!
The trident sliced through the protective shield of the Great Emperor's Robe and struck Han Xiao's Mechanical Deity's abdomen again, tearing off a large section of parts. The Mechanical Deity's body was riddled with wounds and damaged in many places.
The surrounding mechanical troops tried to come over to repair the wound, but they were all blocked by the escort troops around the Mechanic Emperor. They couldn't break through the blockade of the Immortal Mechanic Emperor troops, the mechanical life troops, and dozens of Apostle Weapon. They even had difficulty getting close to Han Xiao.
His mechanical troops were almost completely outmatched by the Mechanic Emperor in performance, except for their attack power, which surpassed that of the Mechanic Emperor's troops. After all, the true damage from the template specialty [Legendary Combat Technique] was not to be underestimated. However, most of the damage was absorbed by the Immortal Mechanic Emperor's troops, who were unafraid of damage and charged forward wave after wave, fearless of death.
The legend of the Undying Body had already spread throughout the Galaxy. Manison had no interest in Han Xiao's Dominion avatar and focused all his attacks on non-critical parts, as if he wanted to slowly torture the Mechanical Deity alive, with maximizing the damage to Han Xiao's mechanical troops as his primary goal.
At this moment, Han Xiao was struggling to defend himself, his mind racing with thoughts.
"At this rate, my Mechanical Deity will be chipped away piece by piece. The Mechanic Emperor has gained the upper hand, and if they continue their unbridled offensive, it will severely deplete my mechanical forces. We must break free from this passive situation..."
With so many Universal Treasure -level equipment, Manison's combat power was enhanced once again.
Since one's own resources are not that abundant, the only way to bridge this gap is to do everything possible to improve one's own attributes, especially intelligence, which is the core attribute affecting mechanical abilities.
Han Xiao quickly opened the panel and glanced at it. The Three Universal Civilizations had spent more than a month preparing for this operation and the Tu Shu, and he had also accumulated an extra month of experience.
I originally planned to stockpile upgrades, but plans change, and now I urgently need to convert them into combat power.
Without hesitation, Han Xiao used most of his experience to upgrade blueprints on a large scale in exchange for Awakening Points.
The experience he had accumulated was not enough to exchange for 100 Awakening Points, which did not meet the requirements for an exclusive skill. However, Han Xiao was not doing this to generate a skill. He exchanged all the Awakening Points he had acquired for free attributes and threw them all into Intelligence. His Intelligence attribute immediately surged by more than 8,000 points.
He had accumulated over 4,000 free attribute points, and he put over 1,000 of them into Endurance, raising it to the 15,000 threshold. He then added the remaining 2,000 points to Intelligence.
With both combined, his intelligence attribute surged by over 10,000 points, instantly breaking the 30,000 mark and approaching 40,000!
This is the biggest increase in his skill points ever!
Having completed this satisfying step, Han Xiao activated the character card without hesitation.
[Mechanic Emperor Summon Card - The Ancient Ones]!
Effect: Intelligence +20%, Mysticism +10%, All skill levels +2, lasting 24 hours!
[Nero's Summon Card - Perfect Mechanical Sense]!
Effect: Overall mechanical affinity +1.4x, mechanical creations enhanced by Mechanical Force temporarily increase in quality by 1-2 tiers (maximum not exceeding pink rare quality), all Mechanic Class skills level +4!
Han Xiao didn't stop there. He immediately activated [Extreme Path Style - Blood Berserk], and his health points plummeted.
At the same time, the additional effect of [Advanced Life Fortitude] is activated... For every 40% of health lost, all attributes are temporarily increased by 10%!
If Manison won't hit me, then I'll hit myself!
There are also specialties like [Ten Thousand Cannot Break Through] which grants +11% to all attributes and [Battlefield Rationality] which grants +15% to intelligence. Han Xiao Quan up, as many as he could.
Is Old Manison's family wealthy?
What's there to be afraid of!
You'll spend money on in-game purchases, I'll use cheats!
We're evenly matched!
This boost took effect instantly, a powerful force surged throughout Han Xiao's body, and the energy fluctuations emanating from him suddenly intensified.
Manison keenly sensed the change in Han Xiao's aura and was immediately taken aback.
"You..."
Before he could finish speaking, Han Xiao suddenly switched from defense to offense, parrying the trident with an elbow and then slashing diagonally with the Star Slaying Blade.
A deep, highly compressed ball of Psionic Energy enveloped the blade, tracing a blue path.
Brush!
This strike was incredibly powerful, exceeding the mana regeneration shield's maximum withstand limit, and instantly broke through the defenses and cut inside.
The powerful, heavy Blades pressed down on the trident, embedding itself instantly into the Universal Treasure- level battle armor of Manison.
The next moment, the Psionic Energy slashes wrapped around the blade triggered a violent explosion!
Manison's offensive was interrupted. The massive Mechanical Deity's body was cleaved away by a single strike, leaving a huge gash on the chest of its armor. Surrounding it were annihilation scars left by the Psionic Energy burst, and large sections of its outer armor were torn and corroded, leaving pitted holes.
This was the first time Manison had been repelled since the start of the war.
The one-sided battle was instantly turned around by Han Xiao!
"Take a few more cuts from me!"
Han Xiao pressed his advantage, unleashing a series of Dao Dao to seize control of the battle.
The Mechanical Deity's combat power was enhanced in all aspects, and the gap in combat power between the two sides was instantly narrowed. Han Xiao was no longer suppressed by Manison as before.
The increased Mechanical Force strength was also reflected in the surrounding mechanical soldiers. The Black Star mechanical forces greatly increased their combat power, successfully broke through the blockade of the Mechanic Emperor forces, and approached Han Xiao one after another, turning into parts to repair the wounds of the Mechanical Deity, while causing even greater casualties to the Mechanic Emperor forces.
Manison steadied himself, wielding his trident and exchanging blows with Han Xiao, while speaking into the wide-area channel, his tone tinged with a hint of surprise:
"You've unleashed your potential again?!"
"Think what you want, how did this cut taste?" Han Xiao chuckled.
"... You're wasting your talent!"
Manison's tone turned cold.
He originally intended to teach Han Xiao a lesson, but Han Xiao unexpectedly unleashed his potential and became incredibly fierce.
To deplete future potential for a single battle involving a clone is, in Manison's view, an extremely foolish act, even if the battle involves factors such as influence and prestige; he still considers it a losing proposition.
He was puzzled by this. Perhaps the two had different ideas, but he didn't think Black Star was the kind of impulsive person.
He had no way of knowing Han Xiao's thoughts. Since Black Star was willing to squander his potential, Manison was happy to see it happen. After all, they were competitors, and he felt he was guaranteed to make a profit.
However, although he scoffed at Han Xiao's actions, he had to admit that Han Xiao's power in his "burst mode" was astonishing, making up for a large part of the gap in strength and immediately turning the tide of the battle.
If we don't give it our all, we'll definitely suffer!
Moreover, Manison felt that Han Xiao's combat power increase this time was even greater than the first time, a discovery that surprised him greatly.
Are you kidding me? You're getting more and more skilled at unleashing your potential?!
Also, is the Extreme Path Style really that powerful? I didn't know that.
What brand is Black Star's Burst ability? It's so effective, why have I never even heard of it before?!
Sensing Han Xiao's suddenly increased aura, Manison was filled with doubt and unease.